God Has a Plan For Cops
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: A female minister joins the Lytton Police Department and becomes its first chaplain, introducing the force to the concept of police work being a vocation of God's servants. Rated T for safety.
1. Introduction

**A/N:** I've desired to do a story about a Lytton Police Department chaplain for a while, and this is my take on what it could be like. Jen Colley, the chaplain, and my OC, is, in part, loosely based off of a real female police chaplain named Rev. Jan Heglund. I hope I do well writing this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Police Quest_ or any of its characters; I don't own Rev. Jan either, just my OC, Rev. Jen.

* * *

**GOD HAS A PLAN FOR COPS**

**INTRODUCTION**

* * *

Reverend Jen Colley was an anomaly at the Lytton Police Department. The LPD was known in the past for its secular counseling for troubled officers, victims, and suspects; many of the officers (though not all) were not known for being choirboys anymore than most of the crooks they apprehended, making them somewhat hypocritical when they said a criminal was no choirboy.

Reverend Jen, however, wanted to change that. She believed that being a police officer was a vocation for a servant of God, and she was hoping that her influence as a police chaplain could bring a spiritual difference to the LPD, not only because of the Gospel, but also because a spiritual police force was able to stand up to the roughness, ugliness, and tragedies of real life better than an anti-spiritual force was in her opinion. She wanted to counsel people through the Word of The Lord, whether they be criminals, victims of crimes, or fellow cops.

Eventually, Commissioner Hacker and Chief Whipplestick approved her proposal, and now she was ready to do her part for Lytton and its citizens and cops.


	2. Talking About God in this Small Space

**TALKING ABOUT GOD IN THIS SMALL SPACE**

* * *

On her first day as an officer in the field, Rev. Jen was paired up with Police Patrol Officer Steve Jones. She knew that it might be annoying or bad form to chat with a more experienced officer during an eight-hour shift about, well, almost anything. Because of this, Jen remained quiet for much of the drive and just enjoyed the scenery and the neighborhood.

Suddenly, about two hours into the shift, Jen had an inspiration. She had noticed that Steve had been giving her some sidelong looks every once in a while, and she said to him, "You know, I'll bet I know what you're thinking about right now."

Steve looked surprised. "You do?"

"Yes," she said, "I'll bet you are thinking this, 'What in the world is a God-fearing person doing in my car, and OMG, it's a woman, and worst of all, do I have to listen to her talk about God in this small space, and talk about Him with her, too?'"

Steve blushed. "Well, yeah, I was thinking something like that. I must confess, I was also thinking that you're very good-looking, and felt guilty about desiring a pretty woman who commits herself to the God the Jews and Christians believe in."

"Well, I'm afraid I'm not available for a date right now," Jen replied, "But don't feel guilty about my appearance, because I have no problem with looking the way I do. It's not one of my bigger concerns in life, anyway. And as for talking about God, I just want you to know that everything said in this car stays in this car. It'll be the same for any other officers and detectives I associate with in Lytton."

Steve Jones didn't stop talking to Jen Colley the entire shift, and Jen felt she had made an adequate start in the LPD.


	3. Beady Eyes Can Be Deceiving

**BEADY EYES CAN BE DECEIVING**

* * *

On another day, Jen was paired with Officer Keith Robinson. They were responding to a domestic violence call. The building was narrow with steps leading up to a front door. They had to go up more flights of stairs until they got to the top. At the top, in the living room, there were a husband and a wife separated from each other by police officers Laura Watts and Sonny Bonds, and the woman looked very angry. Another younger, smaller woman was sitting on the floor, and she was helping a child with his homework. She had eyes that were so beady they looked like the meanest eyes Jen had ever seen.

The beady-eyed woman yelled some ugly words out to another room where her own husband was, and he returned her anger by screaming obscenities. Laura was trying to defuse the situation by asking the people to take a time out, but the two conflicting spouses ignored her and continued to vent their spleens at each other. Sonny looked away in disappointment, wondering what to do next, until he noticed Jen standing in the doorway, in uniform and with a clergy collar on. He wasn't any more sure what a chaplain could do for these people than Keith or Laura were, but he introduced her to the woman, by name.

The woman said in the most hostile voice Sonny had ever heard anyone make (besides Jessie Bains and Pat Morales), "I HATE chaplains!"

The three cops at the scene expected an even greater acceleration in conflict, or a few words of offense from the chaplain, but Jen merely replied, in a soft and kind voice, "That is all right. You can hate chaplains."

The woman looked at Jen in disbelief. She repeated, "Did you hear me?! I said I REALLY hate chaplains!"

Jen looked at her with no animosity whatsoever, just compassion and love. "That is completely okay. You can hate chaplains."

The woman blinked, and then said, "Can I talk with you out in the hall for just a minute? I need to talk to someone about my mother-in-law." She guided Jen to the hall and continued to tell her about her life with her mother-in-law.

Sonny, Keith! and Laura all watched in amazement, and then in disbelief as, upon their departure from the scene, the woman put her arm around Jen (which was no small feat, due to her being as short as Jen was tall) and asked if she had any place for Thanksgiving. Jen replied, "Yes, I do." Then the woman said, "Well, anytime you are in the neighborhood, you just come right up these stairs, and we'll have ourselves a cup of tea."

As the bewildered officers descended the stairs, they asked Jen, "How did what just happened, happen?"

Jen smiled and said, "It wasn't much. I just listened to her story, and then I offered her a little knowledge on how to get in touch with her true feelings from a godly perspective. She hated chaplains, but apparently, when she spoke to me, she decided that I was different from other chaplains, somehow, and now she wants to confide in me, and in the whole of the Lytton Police Force, if I can convince the department to embrace the chaplaincy."

For the rest of the day, those three police officers were quite thoughtful about Rev. Jen's words, especially Sonny and Laura, and they discussed the matter among themselves when off-duty.


	4. Service Involving the Community

**SERVICE INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY**

* * *

A homeless woman named Carla Reed walked into the Lytton Police Department, entered the office of Sergeant Dooley, and reported that she just learned a local businessman's wife had given birth to a stillborn child. Dooley agreed with her that the information was sad, and he relayed that information to Rev. Jen. At the next briefing, Jen asked Dooley whose beat that store was in.

Officer Norris Walker said that it was his beat. Jen asked him if he could drop in and offer his condolences to the husband and wife. Later, Jen dropped by the shop, and gave them information about counseling and a support group for grieving parents. Gradually, the parents began to recover from their tragedy, and per Jen's advice, they put their faith in God to get through the tough times. They were forever grateful.

* * *

Another day, when talking with a frightened woman who lived alone and was facing dialysis, a police volunteer who called homes once a week on behalf of a relative or friend who is worried about the health of another relative or friend who lives alone, said that he felt so badly for this poor, frightened woman. The office staff decided to let Jen Colley know about it, knowing her aptitude for solving problems on a spiritual level. Evidently, the LPD was beginning to become impressed with her work on the force.

Jen thought about it a little, and decided that what was needed was a St. Stephen minister. A St. Stephen minister is someone who goes through fifteen weeks of training in preparation for being a partner of sorts for someone who is housebound. She told the woman at the church about the woman on the phone, and said, "I will call you right back."

She did, with a name of a woman with a similar background. Jen called the frightened woman and told her that a St. Stephen minister was going to call to set up a day of the week when she could come and be a simple friend to help her with whatever she needed. The St. Stephen minister visited the lonely woman every Wednesday until she died.

This particular case involved the office staff, the clergy, the church and the neighborhood. To Jen, it was a perfect example of people throughout the community working together to help each other, and she said so more than once to her fellow officers. The other officers were quietly amazed by her work, realizing that the LPD was gradually being influenced more and more by the new chaplaincy, and more of them liked it than not.


End file.
